I've seen a lot of commercials for the HTC phone lately and was struck by the music in the ad.
I believe it's the opening keys from Nina Simone's "Sinnerman." I wonder if the tagline, "Quietly Brilliant" had anything to do with their selection of music.
From my trip to the New England area, this is my favorite picture that I took.
My photography skills aren't all that great, but I really love this picture for some reason.
Many films and television shows have been filmed in Vermont, from Me, Myself, and Irene to The Cider House Rules. However, last weekend when I was travelling through New England on a mini-break (through Vermont), I couldn't help but have one film on my mind: 1994's Time Chasers.
One of my favorite televisions shows "Mystery Science Theatre 3000" once lampooned this film in one of their episodes. I knew Time Chasers took place in Vermont by their witty one-liners ("Vermont: City on-the-go!"). And actually, despite the film's impediments, the cinematography of Vermont in the movie is quite pleasing to the eye. Because of this film, I have always wanted to go to Vermont (the film Baby Boom is another feather in the state's cap).
But one has to wonder of all the films depicting the beauty of Vermont, why did I choose this one to think about? There are plenty of films with more substance and accolades, and I chose one that was featured on a show that makes fun of movies of its kind.
Perhaps, such B movies do have an effect on audiences, after all. "MST3K" might be where bad movies go to die, but really they are getting second life. I rewatch Time Chasers all of the time on one of my VHS tapes -- more times than I've ever sat down and watched What Lies Beneath (which I also own and which was filmed in Vermont).
American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert released what his new album cover will look like this week.
Via Twitter, Lambert confirmed that this album cover is "deliberately campy." It kinda looks like the entire 80's decade threw up all over the page. Usually, someone that has released many albums can be "deliberately campy" once they have maintained success. However, I find it strange that he's coming right out of the gate with this cover. Who knows. It might be just what the music industry needs!
I watched the latest Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" installment and thought the show was as clever as ever. However, in the opening segment, Lisa calls "different face" Hubert Wong an "asterisk" which confused me.
I thought Lisa was using the typographical symbol as a swear, but here she was referring to baseball players who use performance enhancing drugs (which makes sense in the context of the episode with Wong using a tutor).
I'm an idiot. And I might still call people asterisks anyway.
Rarely do I watch a movie and then read the book it was based from and am blown away by both pieces. However, Richard Yates' Revolutionary Road was the exception.
I watched the film version with Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio last Christmas and couldn't get it out of my head for days. Then, inspired by the film, I decided to read the novel it came from. The novel, in fact, is probably better than the movie -- even though the film is amazing. Never before had I ever read something where every word was important. Usually, you can tell when an author has to fill a quota of so many pages. Yet, Yates' was so incredibly skillful with making each word count in Revolutionary Road (probably the best book I've ever read in fact).
I decided to read Yates' other highly acclaimed book The Easter Parade and was impressed with this achievement as well. I had one of those great late night book reads where you can't wait to see how it ends. The novel tells the tale of two sisters Emily and Sarah (although the focus is on Emily) and the way their lives turn out over the course of four decades. It's probably even more depressing than Revolutionary Road, but I think there is just as much to analyze (especially in the context of Women's Lib).
I did some research and discovered that producer Caroline Kaplan has acquired the rights for the book and a movie is in the works. The funny thing is I kinda pictured Kate Winslet in the role of Sarah. Maybe she should do another Yates book to movie.
I went to see a midnight showing of Where The Wild Things Are Thursday night. Coming out of the theatre, I was declaring my love for the film, when one of my friends said, "But it's not a kids movie."
This stopped me dead in my tracks. Not a kids movie? My friend said that it was "too scary" for kids.
Just because the monsters talk of eating the little boy at one point in the film, it's not a kids film? I don't quite understand this. There are plenty of "kids" films with darker messages. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory shows children practically being tortured in a fun factory, yet the film is now a family classic. Even The Wizard of Oz has frightful moments (personally, I think the witch and the monkeys are terrifying -- plus, unlike WTWTA, Dorothy never wins them over to the good side in the end).
It's been a while since I was a child, but are children's movies becoming softer in substance and premise in order for these movies to relate to kids? Are we sheltering kids from scariness and fright to the point where we don't want them to feel anything when they watch a film? I wonder why Wall-E or even Up get recognition for being geared toward children, when really they made politically statements and clocked in with movie times that would leave children bored. I actually described WTWTA as the "closest depiction of growing up on cinema." Yet, perhaps, I felt this way because I watched this movie from an adult perspective.
To me, Where The Wild Things Are is about imagination. There are no computers or text bullying in this film. The movie is about escaping life through your mind. I don't find this so scary, especially since the audience knows that the little boy isn't going to dream up being eaten, digested, then regurgitated.
I'll admit it. I've never been the biggest fan of "30 Rock". I've resented the fact that this show is on the air, getting Emmy love, when "Arrested Development" and "Pushing Daisies" are cold in the grave.
However, after finally giving in to the hype and watching the show, I now actually appreciate "30 Rock". Even though I feel like I've heard most of the jokes before, it's still better than most of what is on television. And Tina Fey is funny (although, I imagine that Liz Lemon is a lot like Tina Fey in real life -- which is awesome!).
Last Thursday's season 4 premiere entitled "Season 4" was pretty hysterical. My favorite part of the show comes in the first 30 seconds when Liz sings the "Cheesy Blasters" song.
In recent years, I've learned that I would rather watch a show loosely-based on the writing behind "Saturday Night Live" than SNL itself.
Entertainment Weekly's Josh Wolk recently wrote an article on the magazine's web site, posing the question of whether Community is a "success" just because it's funnier than most of what's on television right now.
It's actually a question I've been pondering myself. While I am DVRing Community tonight, I don't necessarily think it's the funniest show on television right now (that award goes to Modern Family, which isn't really breaking down any comedy barriers, but still entertains me each week).
Community is a show that has some great one liners and funny moments, but ultimately doesn't appear to have the longevity of a storyline for people to tune in each week. Nothing happens. There is no ultimate goal at the end (for example, Earl of My Name Is Earl was trying to get through his list). While this works for some shows like The Office (or in my opinion, doesn't work any more), I don't know if Community will make it in the long run. It's literally a show about nothing (and Seinfeld already has done that).
I think I keep watching because of my love for Joel McHale. However, like the article mentions, I'm afraid that the show is also going to venture into "Will they or won't they?" territory with Jeff and Britta. What started as a fresh premise might turn into the usual stick we see on television. I would much rather see Jeff wreaking havoc on the Community College by being his smarmy, manipulating self instead of trying to be a better person because of Britta. I'll have to watch The Soup to get that, I suppose.
I had the pleasure of seeing Anni Rossi in concert over the summer when she opened for Camera Obscura back in June (she's actually coming back to Pittsburgh tomorrow night at Mr. Small's!). I remember being struck by how she stood alone on the stage with only her and her viola (not violin!).
I just rediscovered her while surfing the Internet and think she's one of the most interesting young musical artists out there. I especially enjoy her cover songs (she did a killer version of The Cure's "In Between Days" in concert). She has an original sound.
There's something very haunting about this song. I think it might be a combination of the stirring strings and the night setting.
